Most Affordable Private Colleges After Financial Aid
Private colleges are famous for high sticker prices, yet many discount them heavily. The average net price here is what is left after grants and scholarships, and among private nonprofit four-year colleges it ranges from $2,840 to $58,741 a year. Careful comparison can turn a college that looks out of reach into a realistic option.
This list covers 856 private nonprofit four-year colleges with at least 500 undergraduates and shows the cheapest 50. The median net price is $23,860, compared with a median sticker price of $53,343 for the same group. Talmudical Seminary of Bobov is first, and the 50th school is at $13,807. New York has the most entries, with 8.
Several schools near the top serve small or specialized student bodies, and some are religious institutions with unusual cost structures. Read each profile for admission rules, programs and outcomes before treating a low price as a bargain.
Pair this list with the graduation and earnings columns, and with the best-value private colleges ranking, so that a low price is weighed against what students get for it.
How this list is built
A college appears here only if it meets every condition below.
- Colleges considered
- Private nonprofit 4-year colleges
- Ranked by net price, lowest first. Ties are broken by larger undergraduate enrollment, then by name.
- Main campuses only, with at least 60% of core data fields reported
- At least 500 undergraduate students enrolled (fall 2024)
- A reported net price value (schools without one are not ranked)
- Data period
- Net price: average for students receiving aid, academic year 2023-24.
- Cost of attendance: tuition, fees, books, housing and other expenses, academic year 2023-24.
- Net price by income: students with family income of $0 to $30,000, academic year 2023-24.
- Earnings: median earnings four years after completing, measured in 2022 and 2023 for the 2017-18 and 2018-19 cohorts, in 2024 dollars.
- Graduation rate: first-time, full-time students who started in fall 2018 (4-year) or fall 2021 (2-year), finishing within 150% of normal time.
- Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, June 2026 release.
Showing the top 50 of 856 qualifying schools. Select a column heading to re-sort the table.
| 1 | Talmudical Seminary of Bobov Brooklyn, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year | $2,840 | $19,000 | $1,852 | $20,372 | 41% |
| 2 | United Tribes Technical College Bismarck, ND Private nonprofit · 4-year · Open admission | $3,569 | $14,309 | $3,571 | $34,923 | 28% |
| 3 | Uta Mesivta of Kiryas Joel Monroe, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year · Open admission | $4,156 | $21,682 | $3,915 | $27,957 | 74% |
| 4 | Be'er Yaakov Talmudic Seminary Spring Valley, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year · Open admission | $4,543 | $19,858 | $4,122 | $19,100 | 56% |
| 5 | Wilberforce University Wilberforce, OH Private nonprofit · 4-year · HBCU | $5,567 | $25,676 | $5,630 | $45,958 | 13% |
| 6 | College of the Ozarks Point Lookout, MO Private nonprofit · 4-year | $6,100 | $33,734 | $6,381 | $44,258 | 62% |
| 7 | Berea College Berea, KY Private nonprofit · 4-year | $6,106 | $60,718 | $5,428 | $42,924 | 60% |
| 8 | Princeton University Princeton, NJ Private nonprofit · 4-year | $6,128 | $84,040 | $41 | $108,590 | 97% |
| 9 | United Talmudical Seminary Brooklyn, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year · Open admission | $6,640 | $22,754 | $6,446 | $18,950 | 58% |
| 10 | Wiley University Marshall, TX Private nonprofit · 4-year · Open admission · HBCU | $7,092 | $19,097 | $6,137 | $39,988 | 22% |
| 11 | Le Moyne-Owen College Memphis, TN Private nonprofit · 4-year · HBCU | $7,099 | $19,001 | $6,393 | — | 26% |
| 12 | Brescia University Owensboro, KY Private nonprofit · 4-year | $8,709 | $44,328 | $8,977 | $51,492 | 51% |
| 13 | Yeshivath Viznitz Monsey, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year · Open admission | $8,929 | $20,397 | $7,589 | $19,601 | 69% |
| 14 | Trinity Washington University Washington, DC Private nonprofit · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | $9,302 | $33,903 | $7,928 | $64,019 | 47% |
| 15 | Jarvis Christian University Hawkins, TX Private nonprofit · 4-year · Open admission · HBCU | $9,825 | $25,185 | $11,606 | $40,867 | 15% |
| 16 | Christian Brothers University Memphis, TN Private nonprofit · 4-year | $9,854 | $48,038 | $9,466 | $68,058 | 55% |
| 17 | Mount Carmel College of Nursing Columbus, OH Private nonprofit · 4-year | $10,420 | $21,446 | $6,312 | $79,807 | 64% |
| 18 | New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary New Orleans, LA Private nonprofit · 4-year · Open admission | $10,829 | $21,660 | — | $59,131 | 51% |
| 19 | Lane College Jackson, TN Private nonprofit · 4-year · Open admission · HBCU | $10,904 | $23,441 | — | $38,716 | 18% |
| 20 | Texas College Tyler, TX Private nonprofit · 4-year · Open admission · HBCU | $10,958 | $20,339 | $9,639 | $43,887 | 12% |
| 21 | Saint Xavier University Chicago, IL Private nonprofit · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | $10,970 | $43,244 | $7,572 | $66,961 | 58% |
| 22 | Allen University Columbia, SC Private nonprofit · 4-year · HBCU | $10,972 | $23,998 | $10,553 | $36,436 | 13% |
| 23 | Baptist Health Sciences University Memphis, TN Private nonprofit · 4-year | $11,212 | $22,227 | $6,354 | $73,191 | 46% |
| 24 | Saint Mary's University of Minnesota Winona, MN Private nonprofit · 4-year | $11,704 | $57,380 | $16,182 | $72,502 | 67% |
| 25 | Dominican University River Forest, IL Private nonprofit · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | $11,745 | $43,891 | $9,759 | $59,507 | 59% |
| 26 | Bethune-Cookman University Daytona Beach, FL Private nonprofit · 4-year · HBCU | $12,030 | $29,764 | $10,896 | $46,007 | 29% |
| 27 | Peirce College Philadelphia, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year · Open admission | $12,148 | $18,660 | — | $58,509 | 6% |
| 28 | Saint Peter's University Jersey City, NJ Private nonprofit · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | $12,199 | $50,272 | $10,783 | $64,352 | 61% |
| 29 | Grace Christian University Wyoming, MI Private nonprofit · 4-year | $12,404 | $26,166 | $9,538 | $43,821 | 46% |
| 30 | Hallmark University San Antonio, TX Private nonprofit · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | $12,513 | $18,419 | $10,662 | $59,410 | 67% |
| 31 | Andrews University Berrien Springs, MI Private nonprofit · 4-year | $12,547 | $45,218 | $13,406 | $60,517 | 69% |
| 32 | Western Governors University Salt Lake City, UT Private nonprofit · 4-year · Open admission | $12,548 | $16,728 | $12,064 | $87,445 | 48% |
| 33 | Bethel University (TN) McKenzie, TN Private nonprofit · 4-year | $12,595 | $31,203 | $11,871 | $62,152 | 35% |
| 34 | National Louis University Chicago, IL Private nonprofit · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | $12,641 | $24,154 | $12,462 | $63,065 | 33% |
| 35 | Paul Quinn College Dallas, TX Private nonprofit · 4-year · HBCU | $12,709 | $23,587 | $11,443 | — | 33% |
| 36 | Mary Baldwin University Staunton, VA Private nonprofit · 4-year · Open admission | $12,756 | $45,935 | $12,717 | $51,402 | 43% |
| 37 | University of St Francis Joliet, IL Private nonprofit · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | $13,006 | $46,239 | $8,547 | $75,229 | 66% |
| 38 | Maria College of Albany Albany, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year | $13,082 | $21,798 | $10,733 | $69,643 | 34% |
| 39 | Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary Wake Forest, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $13,090 | $22,632 | $18,587 | $69,450 | 54% |
| 40 | Louisiana Christian University Pineville, LA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $13,113 | $33,791 | $13,203 | $53,861 | 42% |
| 41 | Holy Family University Philadelphia, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $13,143 | $40,539 | $9,721 | $82,892 | 61% |
| 42 | Baker College Owosso, MI Private nonprofit · 4-year | $13,157 | $24,526 | $11,976 | $53,754 | 33% |
| 43 | Virginia Union University Richmond, VA Private nonprofit · 4-year · HBCU | $13,235 | $29,075 | $11,424 | $50,840 | 39% |
| 44 | The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art New York, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year | $13,269 | $64,190 | $3,749 | $75,729 | 81% |
| 45 | Rice University Houston, TX Private nonprofit · 4-year | $13,370 | $79,788 | $5,827 | $110,080 | 95% |
| 46 | Livingstone College Salisbury, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year · HBCU | $13,479 | $28,305 | $13,860 | $37,280 | 26% |
| 47 | Villa Maria College Buffalo, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year | $13,494 | $36,335 | $13,049 | $41,151 | 31% |
| 48 | Fresno Pacific University Fresno, CA Private nonprofit · 4-year · Hispanic-Serving | $13,630 | $44,249 | $11,133 | $63,285 | 53% |
| 49 | Edward Waters University Jacksonville, FL Private nonprofit · 4-year · HBCU | $13,649 | $26,617 | $12,380 | — | 28% |
| 50 | Stanford University Stanford, CA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $13,807 | $87,833 | — | $136,959 | 92% |
By state
State versions of this ranking:
Most affordable private colleges, by state
States with schools on this list
Browse every college in these states.